Basic income experiments: limits, constraints and opportunities

Abstract

This article aims to examine Karl Widerquist’s book <em>A Critical Analysis of Basic Income Experiments for Researchers, Policymakers, and Citizens</em> in the context of various governments’ current interest in conducting basic income experiments. Based on the reflections in the book, the first section of this paper analyses why basic income experiments usually have positive results and why it is logical to expect this to be the case. The second section questions why, regardless of the results, the experiments have not led to implementation of a measure like basic income. The third section addresses the two main goals of the book: how to understand and communicate the results of basic income experiments and how to conduct such experiments given the methodological difficulties that they entail.